The T600 delivers 600 Gbps single-wavelength transmission using 64QAM modulation at 75 GHz channel spacing. For campus, metro and long-haul DCI networks, the flexible T600 provides programmable modes from 200 to 600 Gbps, as well as improved optical performance and extended reach across all configurations supported by innovative modulation format and various FEC and baud rates. This new transponder also enables the highest spectral efficiency in the industry, achieving up to 76.8 Tbps per single fiber by extending C-band transmission to the adjacent L-band, with comparable performance.

Fujitsu also notes that the core system software of the 1FINITY T600 offers open management interfaces and tools to allow for the highest levels of automation. Standard interfaces are complemented by newer M2M interfaces such as RESTful APIs, NETCONF and gNMI (gRPC Network Management Interface). To embrace various open industry initiatives the T600 supports YANG models from OpenConfig, Open ROADM and IETF. Operational automation of the T600 is further extended by supporting zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), streaming telemetry and LLDP snooping.

“Disaggregated WDM systems such as Fujitsu’s 1FINITY transport product address a fast-growing market need for a stackable form factor that balances capacity and reach within an open environment,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President, Optical Transport Market Research, Dell’Oro Group. “As such, we forecast demand for Disaggregated Transponder Units will grow at a five-year compounded annual growth rate of 27 percent, driven largely by data center interconnect and the migration to higher wavelength speeds.”

Infinera introduced a Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG) that conforms to the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) DCSG specification, which was developed by the Open Optical & Packet Transport (OOPT) Project Group within TIP in collaboration with Tier 1 global mobile operators, including Vodafone, Telefonica, TIM Brasil, BT and Orange.

The new gateway can be used for the backhaul of cell site traffic and is based on an open and disaggregated architecture for existing 2G/3G/4G and future 5G mobile infrastructure. The platform runs Infinera’s Converged Network Operating System (CNOS), a disaggregated carrier-class routing software stack,

"We are pleased to welcome Infinera to our DCSG open networking ecosystem, which is expanding the scope and value of disaggregation beyond optical transport networks,” said Luis Martin Garcia, Co-Lead, Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways project group, TIP. “Open networks can help operators as they build out 5G infrastructure by reducing costs, expanding and leveraging automation so they are more agile in introducing new services."

“As part of our ongoing commitment to open networking, we are excited to demonstrate the value of our disaggregated CNOS software within the framework of TIP’s DCSG specification,” said Mikko Hannula, Vice President, Engineering & Product Management at Infinera. “Our DCSG solution is enhanced by our comprehensive portfolio of software-defined networking-capable networking solutions and end-to-end system integration capabilities.”

Bharti Airtel is deploying Nokia's Nuage Networks VSP solution in 15 circles (service areas) in the northern and southern part of the country to automate its data center networks. Once deployed, the Nuage Networks VSP solution will allow Airtel to provide Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) applications.

Randeep Sekhon, CTO at Bharti Airtel, said: "We are committed to providing innovative and best customer services to our subscribers. The upcoming technologies, including 5G and IoT, demand that we move the data centers closer to our customers, so we are able to provide ultra-high speeds and extremely low latency. This is crucial for a number of new-age use cases such as Virtual Reality, autonomous driving and remote surgery. We are confident that this partnership with Nokia will allow us to upgrade our data center and will enable us to continue to provide the best-in-class services to our subscribers."

Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market at Nokia, said: "Bharti Airtel is our longstanding partner and we are thrilled to support them in this endeavor to automate their data center network. Nokia's Nuage Networks products and solutions have emerged as a clear leader in helping service providers in their journey to leverage virtualization and SDN for better operational efficiency and quality of experience. It promotes an open ecosystem which enables multi-vendor deployment and allows seamless integration with the deployed infrastructure at massive scale."

NeoPhotonics announced the general availability of a new ultra-compact FVOA-9000 MEMs based variable optical attenuator targetted at mini-EDFAs, pluggable coherent modules and compact line cards.

The new FVOA-9000 builds on NeoPhotonics' FVOA-5000/8000 product line which has been in volume production for more than a decade. The new device improves key performance measures while achieving a significant size reduction of nearly 70% in the global component footprint. NeoPhotonics says the new FVOA-9000 achieves response times of less than 2 milliseconds along with lower wavelength dependent loss, making it well-suited for transient suppression in EDFA optical amplifiers.

In addition to a reduction in the size of the TO can hermetic package, the FVOA-9000 does not require an external ESD protection board, further decreasing its overall use footprint in system design. Its compact size is a significant advantage when used in next-generation applications where size is a critical factor, such as Mini-EDFAs, compact pluggable coherent modules and compact line cards and transponders.

“We are very excited to see very strong customer adoption of this new compact FVOA-9000 and enhancing our long-running line of MEMS VOAs, continuing our commitment to optical components for system control,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. “This exciting innovation expands our existing line of passive multiplexers, demultiplexers and power monitors to support next-generation systems for telecom, data center interconnects and 5G wireless,” continued Mr. Jenks.

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) signed a deal to deploy a 5G network with Nokia's end-to-end 5G solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Nokia's equipment, software and services will be used to set up a 5G network first in the western and southern part of Saudi Arabia, including the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. The rollout phase is already ongoing and is expected to be completed by end of 2020.

Nokia's full 5G portfolio will provide STC subscribers with ultra-high bandwidth and low latency services, as well as new applications in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence.

The deal involves multiple firsts in STC's network, including the introduction of cloud RAN and AirScale, as well as the deployment of the Wavence platform in the microwave and the AirScale indoor radio.

Nasser Al-Nasser, STC Group CEO, said: "We are excited to work with Nokia on the Aspiration project which will help us realize our dream to be the first one to launch 5G services in the region. Once completed our subscribers will be able to enjoy innovative high bandwidth consuming use cases. The project underscores our support and commitment to the National Transformation Plan 2020 and the Government's Vision 2030 to drive Saudi Arabia's digital transformation into a knowledge economy. The leadership of our longstanding partner, Nokia, in the development of 5G is crucial for our launch of 5G services."

Siklu, which specializes in millimeter wave wireless solutions, introduced a 360-degree coverage mesh node as part of its MultiHaul series.

The new MultiHaul N360 is topology independent and can be deployed in PtMP or a mesh topology with a built-in wireless backhaul. The node can be installed as an enhanced Base Unit in a PtMP topology, with the advantage of only one install required for >90° coverage and the wireless backhaul connection. If the target region is a neighborhood of Single Family Units, where take rates are uncertain, the N360 can be used as a self-organizing (SON) mesh node, adding nodes as the network expands and densifies. It provides built-in wireless backhaul via other N360 devices or the ability to connect to a network POP via fiber or a Siklu EtherHaul link with up to 10Gbps On the subscriber side, the N360 delivers a gigabit to either of the currently available Siklu MultiHaul Terminal Units.

"Siklu continues to be the leader in mmWave systems, offering the broadest portfolio of PTP (EtherHaul™), PtMP (MultiHaul™), SaaS tools and now mesh products in the market." said Eyal Assa, Siklu's CEO. "When deploying Gigabit connections to customers it is not a one size fits all scenario. At Siklu we understand this and with the N360 we continue to provide solutions that deliver robust and sustainable ROIs to carriers and smart cities across the globe."

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke signed a Joint Purpose Agreement 2.0 expanding their collaboration across cybersecurity, cloud and the digital workplace. Telenor will also explore Open Virtualized RAN (vRAN) solutions for 5G with Cisco.

“Cisco is focused on innovating to help our customers evolve their networks to be more flexible and programmable as we look to 5G, and the billions of connections this new era will make possible. Telenor Group shares our vision for the digital future, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our mutual commitments to benefit both of our customers,“ said Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO, Cisco.

“We’re in the midst of modernising Telenor, preparing both ourselves and our customers for continued digitalisation. Doing so, we’re happy to further enhance our collaboration with a key technology partner such as Cisco for solutions within cybersecurity, cloud and open vRAN for 5G. We’re already working closely together on a number of innovative projects and are looking forward to a deeper engagement on some of the areas that matter most to our customers: fast, reliable, efficient and secure connectivity,” said Sigve Brekke, President & CEO of Telenor Group.

Keysight’s 5G UE Emulation solution features the XAir3 platform, a powerful test product delivering functional layer-by-layer testing, as well as load, scale, and performance testing. XAir3 is the successor to XAir2 4G LTE-Advanced UE emulation platform. The XAir3 platform supports both Non-Stand Alone and Stand Alone modes, sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave radios as well as xRAN architectures. With this solution, users can perform capacity tests, analyze cell throughput, measure voice and video quality and model a wide variety of mobility scenarios in the lab prior, during and after service roll-out from a single tool without the need for real devices.

Lenovo Data Center Group (DCG) introduced its ThinkSystem SE350 edge server, the first of a family of edge servers to come from the firm. The company is also showcasing a Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) platform along with Wind, WizR, Vertiv and Intel.

The new edge server is just slightly larger than a ThinkPad, making it suitable for deployment in tight spaces, mounted on a wall, stacked on a shelf or mounted in a rack. In addition to Ethernet, connectivity options include Wi-Fi and LTE.

“There is tremendous opportunity to help customers realize the power that edge computing can bring to their organizations,” said Kirk Skaugen, Executive Vice President, Lenovo and President of Lenovo Data Center Group. “We’ve made significant focused investments in our IoT and Telco offerings over the past year with several strategic partners, enabling connectivity from edge to data center. We are committed to supporting industry open source initiatives, including the Open RAN, and Lenovo looks forward to co-chairing the Open RAN (O-RAN) Cloudification and Orchestration groups.”

In IoT, Lenovo is working with Pivot3 to drive smart city capabilities. In collaboration with SecureTech, a leading integrator of video security solutions, Lenovo and Pivot3 helped a leading Middle East hospitality customer secure their sprawling hotel complex meeting their mission-critical requirements for resilience, security and manageability.

“Boasting increasingly high performance and network density, Rambus 28G and 32G SerDes will be critical to 5G infrastructure, wireless base stations and remote radio heads, autonomous vehicles, data center optical switches and highly anticipated technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning inferencing, smart cities, and more,” said Hemant Dhulla, vice president and general manager of IP Cores at Rambus. “By developing our high-speed interfaces on GF’s leading 22FDX process, we are able to deliver the high performance alongside reduced power and area required for these applications.”

MPEG LA announced today that patent holders in MPEG LA’s AVC/H.264 Patent Portfolio License have enforced verdicts of injunction in German District court (“Landgericht Dusseldorf”) cases finding that Huawei Deutschland GmbH (“Huawei”) and ZTE Deutschland GmbH ("ZTE") infringed patents by their use in mobile phones that implement the AVC/H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10) Standard. As a result, Huawei and ZTE must cease and desist from offering in Germany AVC/H.264...

Ericsson and OPPO, the fifth largest smartphone vendor in the world with business operations in more than 40 markets globally, have signed a global patent license agreement. This initial agreement includes a cross license covering the 2G, 3G and 4G patent portfolios from both companies.

OPPO will make on-going royalty payments to Ericsson based on a substantial part of their annual sales.

In addition to a cross license, the agreement between OPPO and Ericsson includes business cooperation on a number of projects related to 5G, like device testing, customer engagements, etc.